Rebirth
by EmeraldGlee
Summary: Chrom finds a young man bearing the Exalt's Brand unconscious and dead looking in a ruin during one of his patrols with Lissa. Yuuki Makoto has awakened from his slumber. Set 2 years before Awakening.
1. Man in the Ruins

**Chapter Title:** Man in the Ruins

**Chapter Length:** 1,234 words

**First Published:** 31 March 2015

* * *

"To think we would find something like this here." Chrom commented with awe.

"Wow! No one ever mentioned having seen this, Chrom! You think it's unexplored territory?" Lissa waved her arms in excitement. Finally, something different from her monotonous clerical training. "Let's explore what's inside!"

The siblings were exploring the forests just outside the capital out of boredom and the sight was wholly unexpected. In front of them stood a strange structure, weathered over time and covered with moss, ferns, and all sorts of flora. Its style was something they had never seen before, even with their intensive royal studies. Chrom wondered if Miriel would recognize it.

"I don't know, Lissa." Chrom furrowed his brows in concern. "It looks like it would crumble any moment."

Lissa pouted. "Come on, Chrom! I'm pretty sure it's sturdy enough!" the young princess even smacked a wall of the ruins a few times. "See? It's holding up pretty well!"

Chrom felt his heart stop a bit at the groaning sound of the ruins. Steeling himself, he tried to convince his sister.

"There could be unknown dangers inside, like traps. Maybe wild animals have taken to this place as their home. We would not want to be mauled by a clan of bears, now do we?" Chrom tried to exert his dominance.

"Ohoho~!" Lissa smiled mischievously. She saw right through her older brother. "You want to go in, don'tcha? You do, right? Right?" she pressed really closely to Chrom, eyebrows wiggling.

Chrom tried to hold is ground against his sister's prodding, but his will was already weak to begin with.

He sighed. "Fine. Just stick close to me, alright?" an adventurous smile graced his lips. Maybe there would be something interesting inside.

"Exploration time! Woohoo!" Lissa raised her hands in the air, her dress fluttering with her movements.

* * *

"It smells in here." Lissa grumbled, diligently following her brother.

"It's a ruin, Lissa. What do you expect?" Chrom fondly smiled at his sister.

"Still! It smells. At least there's some light inside. I don't know what I'd feel if it was dark and it smelled."

The ruins had many sections of it missing, letting the light from outside seep in. Chrom could observe that it wasn't made of the usual materials like stone that they were used to. It had many doors with what looked like labels on top, written in a language long lost.

Frankly, aside from it's initial mystery at being an unknown area, it was a rather boring place. After a few minutes of walking, Chrom decided it was enough.

"Let's go back, Lissa. I don't think there is anything else in this place."

"But it's only the first floor! There could be other things deeper in!"

"Come on, Lissa. We can't stay here any longer. That's enough adventure for today, I feel."

"But Ch-!"

A very prominent pained groan cut Lissa off.

"Lissa." Chrom was suddenly very serious. "Stay close. We'll slowly make our way outside before whatever made that sound can hurt us."

"But, Chrom, that sounds like someone's in pain. They could need our help!" Lissa, being a healer, was intimately familiar with pained voices of all kinds.

"We don't know what it is, Lissa. It's dangerous!"

But Lissa wouldn't have any of that. She was positive that it was a person! A person in pain needs a medic! Her soul was telling her to go, and go quickly. It was practically screaming at her to go and help. She gripped her Heal staff tighter and ran towards the voice's origin. Out of the royal family, it was only Emeryn who had any semblance of restraint. The rest were more reckless than what their position demands them to be.

"Lissa!"

Turning around the corner and descending a flight of stairs, Lissa ran with reckless abandon. Sometimes, she stumbled in her very impractical dress, but she always clumsily righted herself and continued on. She eventually got to the bottom and found herself in a dark room.

Focusing on her magic, she lit up her Heal staff. It was a waste of healing magic, she knew, but she needed the light. The groaning was really strong now. She was very sure the person was inside the room.

What she saw shocked her.

"CHROOOOOOOOMMMM!" the young princess screamed, almost dropping her staff and cutting off her light source. She stumbled back and fell on her bum.

Chrom was immediately in scene. Hearing his sister's scream quickened his pace even more, until he made his way to where Lissa was sprawled on the floor, clutching her glowing staff like her life depended on it.

"LISSA!"

Chrom took a stance in front of his sister, ready to protect Lissa. What he saw caught him off guard.

In front of them was a barely clothed, extremely bone thin man crucified in the center of the room. At first, he looked like a corpse, with how thin he was, but the groaning was obviously coming from him. Lifting his head with enormous effort, he looked to the royal siblings with hazy eyes through his long and grimy hair. He opened his mouth to say something, but with his condition, they couldn't make out what he said. They assumed it was for help.

"He's alive!"

Moving quickly, Chrom went to remove the man from his bindings. The aged chains were no match for Falchion. Lissa was right behind him, the Heal staff's calming glow eased some of the man's discomfort.

They stayed in silence, Lissa healing the stranger as much as she could with the weak staff and her beginner skills. Chrom watched over them with serious eyes, and at some point, his eyes narrowed even more. Once the man was as stable as he could be, Lissa looked up at her brother.

"What should we do with him, Chrom?"

"We should get him to the royal healing chambers. Quickly." He went to pick up the man. He was much lighter than Lissa. Much much lighter.

"Huh? Why there? Well, I guess with his condition, he needs the best treatment he can get. But I'm pretty sure the general hospital is can handle him, or more like, Frederick won't like it if we bring an outsider into the royal healing chambers." Lissa's brow was scrunched in confusion.

"Because, apparently, he's a royal."

"HUH?!"

With some difficulty, Chrom directed Lissa's gaze to the man's bicep. It was hard to make out with how dark it was and how loose the man's skin was on his body, but Lissa could see the Exalt's Brand. She idly noted that it was on the opposite arm of where Chrom's Brand was.

"I noticed it earlier while you were busy with healing him."

"Holy Naga! He really does have the Brand! How?! Why?! What's going on...?"

"I don't know, Lissa. But we won't find out if this man dies. We have to get him to the healing chambers immediately." Chrom's eyes hardened.

Who was this man? What was he doing here? Why was he in such a terrible condition? Chrom could only hope to Naga that this wouldn't bring trouble upon Ylisse.

* * *

**AN:**

My goodness. I have no idea where I'm taking this plot bunny but eh, I think I have a general idea of what I want to do. I hope you guys enjoyed reading, at least. Wish me luck!


	2. One Man Management

**Chapter Title:** One Man Management

**Chapter Length:** 1,581 words

**First Published:** 08 April 2015

* * *

Frederick's day didn't start all that well and he was pretty sure it wouldn't get any better.

He woke up at three in the morning to a squire pounding on his door to report a fire in the eastern royal garden. The idiots found it more important to report to him than to douse the relatively small fire. It grew in the unusually stronger than normal winds of that summer dawn and resulted in almost 1,500 gold worth of damages. Thankfully, no one was too injured.

When he investigated the cause of the fire, he found two archer trainees had been experimenting with flaming arrows near the garden. They missed their target and ended up burning Princess Lissa's favorite sunflowers!

"Why in the world would those fools train there of all places! Without a trainer to watch over!"

After chewing out all the trainees and delivering divine punishment that even Naga herself wouldn't hand out to Grima, Frederick sought to have a calming breakfast to pick up his mood. Sadly, the gods decided that Frederick hadn't been under enough stress that morning and the sun was barely peeking in the horizon.

He walked into the kitchen for a simple breakfast only to find the staff frantically moving about to save what could be saved of breakfast. Apparently, Sully decided to try and learn how to cook today, saying something about breakfast being the simplest meal to prepare for. In her words, "No way I'll mess this up! Hand me that knife!"

The results were disastrous. The "meal" looked like it would come alive and eat them instead.

After helping out the kitchen staff and dishing out punishment to the tomboyish redhead, Frederick sighed as he exited the kitchen with a plate of bread and a cup of tea in his hands. It was roughly eight in the morning.

On his way to the mess hall, another squire reported to him that Lord Chrom and Lady Lissa had gone out of the palace to explore the forests outside Ylisstol. Frederick grit his teeth at that, eyes narrowing in annoyance. His charges really tested his patience most of the time. Who knew what dangers those two could get into without him to watch over them? He sighed. Maybe for just today he could let them be. He was already so tired and it was barely midmorning.

For the next few hours, Frederick went from place to place doing damage control, his breakfast always interrupted. He sometimes felt that without him castle would be nothing but shambles. Ah, the things he did for love.

He was finally eating his rather late breakfast - it was almost lunch - when he heard the commotion happening outside the mess hall.

"What in the name of the gods is happening out there?" an angry Frederick was truly a frightening sight to see. This morning really wore out the Great Knight. Today was even worse than other days. The poor maid he asked was shaking in her dress.

"I-I do not know, sir! The o-other m-maids mentioned something about L-Lord Ch-Chrom a-a-and Lady L-L-Lissa running in the hall, sir! T-they're running towards the healing chambers, sir!" Poor Marie looked like she would faint.

Frederick's eyes narrowed. "Those two...! I am occupied for just a few hours and the next thing I know they get into trouble!"

He angrily opened the mess hall door, stomping his way to the royal healing chambers, meal forgotten on the table. Marie crumbled to the floor with a nervous sigh. Even without his armor, Frederick was an imposing figure.

* * *

"Milord! Milady!"

Frederick burst into the healing chambers expecting something gruesome to have happened to the siblings. Maybe Lissa had broken her arm and couldn't heal herself? Maybe Chrom had been stabbed and was slowly bleeding to death? Maybe the siblings were attacked and they were in critical condition? For all his imposing and strict image, Frederick truly cared for his charges as if they were his own children.

Lissa was nervously standing to the side, fiddling with her Heal staff. She looked rather grimy, as if she rolled in some mud and dirt. She was very frazzled, but at least she was not injured. Frederick sighed in relief. She gazed worriedly to one of the beds where a lot of healers were busily moving about.

Frederick moved his eyes to the figure on the bed. He couldn't see the person all that well with all the healers blocking the way, but he could see a tuft of blue hair through the gaps. Could it be...that Chrom was in a critical condition? Frederick felt the blood drain from his face.

"Frederick!"

Lissa hurriedly moved to stand next to the knight. "You won't believe what happened! We found these ruins that weren't there before and then-"

"Forgive me for cutting you off, milady, but how fares your brother?" Frederick had a grim expression on his face.

"Huh?" Lissa tilted her head, not expecting the question. "Chrom? He's fine. That's besides the point, though! There-"

Lissa was cut off again. Frederick's face was scaring her. "Uh, Frederick?"

"Milady! Your brother does not look fine at all! He is-"

"Rather fine, Frederick."

Frederick stopped and slowly turned his head to face Chrom, who was walking in from the Head Healer's office with said Head Healer next to him. The prince turned to the Head Healer and nodded. The old man bowed and made his way to the chaos near the patient's bed. Frederick just stared, a rather dumbstruck look on his face. Chrom smiled at him.

"You worried yourself too much again. I'm sorry about that, Frederick."

"Milord!" One could see embarrassment coloring the knight's cheeks. "It is nothing. I am just glad you are safe." Frederick smiled back. As long as they were safe. But...

"Who is that being healed?" Frederick's eyebrow rose. The siblings looked at each other for a bit, acting really suspicious. Frederick's eyes narrowed. "Who is it? You know that this is the royal healing chambers! You cannot just bring anybody in the castle! It is a security breach!"

"Well, Frederick, you see..." Chrom was finding it hard to explain. He sighed. "We found that man in ruins in the western woods just outside Yllistol. He was chained and dying. We couldn't just leave him there."

"Why not leave the man in the general hospital? Our healers there are very capable."

"He bears the Brand, Frederick."

The knight's eyes widened. Although he knew it was rude, Frederick needed the confirmation. He pushed his way through the healers and saw the extremely thin, corpse-like man on the bed. He was grimy and dirt encrusted though - because he was partially cleaned already - his features were visible. His long, tangled blue hair was very similar in shade to that of the royal family's. Although it was hard to tell his with how thin he was, the man looked very similar to Chrom. He had the same nose and shape of the jaw. The most damning of evidence, however, was the Exalt's Brand on his left bicep.

Frederick was in shock. Who was this man? He allowed himself to be pushed away by an irate healer. He stumbled towards the siblings. "Who...?"

"That we don't know. What was important was he get him healed. He is dying."

They stayed in silence, contemplating the mystery in front of them.

"...Wait. Did you bring him all the way there from the western woods in your haste?" Frederick had a bad feeling about this.

"Uh, yeah? We were kinda in a rush, you know? Dying man and all." Lissa said.

"That means people saw you. Ah! We have to quell the rumors! We can't have word spread of an unknown man being carried by the prince to the healing chambers! We can't let this man's bearing of the Brand be known! Your political enemies would pounce on this opportunity to ruin the royal family! It could lead to unrest with the public! This man's condition has so many implications! Who put him there in that state? Why is he in that state? Who is he?"

Frederick was in a frenzy.

"Head Healer Yosef! Make sure your healers don't speak of this to anyone! I shall go and quell the rumors. The maids will be particularly helpful here. Milord, it would be best to inform Exalt Emmeryn as soon as you are able. I'm afraid I will be too busy with this to inform the Exalt."

The knight bowed and quickly left the hall. The siblings were left in the healing chambers, standing awkwardly, caught off guard by the knight's words. Chrom sighed.

"Frederick makes a great point. Why didn't I think of it?" He turned to look at the man on the bed. "His presence will surely stir up things, and we must be prepared for that. For now, we'll have to keep things quiet while we figure out how to deal with things."

He then turned to Lissa. "There is also that ruin we found. We need to investigate it soon. I didn't notice it at first, since we were busy at the time, but Falchion clearly reacted with something in there. We need to know what reacted with it, and if it would bring us harm."

Lissa sighed. This was turning into a mess. Sure, she wanted to have a little adventure in her life but this...She hoped it would all work out in the end.

* * *

**AN:**

Whoo! Here is chapter two, everyone. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of people who read and are following this story I posted on a whim. Does that mean you enjoyed it? I hope so! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too. To be honest, I thought that I dragged the intro part a little too much, but at the same time, it didn't feel right to cut straight to Frederick seeing Makoto (gods, I'm still much too used to Minato that this name is still strange) for the first time. This does have a Family genre and I want to expand on the characters and their relationships. Frederick is pretty much a member of Chrom's family anyway. Frederick's is so hard to write! I want him to come off as strict and formal, yet kind and a big worrywart. Did I do him justice? I feel that his speech is a little forced.

For the guest review replies:

1.) _can't wait for the next chapter will makoto date anyone_

Not in this story, no. This story will focus on platonic bonds and familial relationships, though I might sprinkle in some cute romantic scenes between the FE cast for a little flavor. Romance won't be in the spotlight. Makoto especially won't be in a relationship with anyone.

2.) _Hmm (takes out a folding chair, unfolds it and sits down) __this is gonna be good_

I'm glad you think so! I hope you'll enjoy seeing the events unfold. :3


	3. Stirring Up

**Chapter Title:** Stirring Up

**Chapter Length:** 3, 335 words

**First Published:** 02 May 2015

**Beta Reader:** MinoAcid

* * *

"This concludes my report on today's events, milady." Frederick bowed, as stiff as ever. A day in the castle was always filled with barely controlled chaos, so much so that he had to keep the Exalt updated every day. Emmeryn loved her people and wanted to make sure they were comfortable and happy, especially the royal guards and staff who worked tirelessly to keep the castle safe and running.

She smiled fondly at her knight. She didn't know what she would do without him. "Thank you, Frederick." She took the cup of tea that Frederick had served earlier. It was her mother's brew - chamomile with a hint of honey, the way he knew she preferred her tea. She sipped daintily before smiling sweetly in thanks at him before continuing. "How fares the young man from the ruins?"

The knight looked visibly annoyed. A small huff escaped his lips.

She gave him a smile of encouragement, her soft features graceful as always. Her companion was always stiff and formal around her, his emotions constantly in check. For him to have been this visibly riled up, he must have been very worried indeed. To the undiscerning eye, he had but two modes: annoyed and serious. To those who knew better - like the royal family members - there were in fact tell tale signs of other emotions such as worry, happiness, and sadness. Frederick was an open book once you knew where to look.

"It has been three weeks since Lord Chrom and Lady Lissa brought him to the castle, milady, and not once has he shown signs of awakening."

"I see. What of his health?"

"He is slowly filling out, milady. The healers have been periodically providing him with liquids and using healing magic to help facilitate nutrient absorption. However, this treatment will hit its limit if he does not awaken soon. He requires solid nourishment to recover any further, or so Head Healer Yosef told me."

The monarch took another sip of her tea. That was worrisome. While she was admittedly prone to worry, even for those whom she did not know, this man wasn't just _any_ stranger. He was of their blood. The last time she came to visit him, she saw the many scars, the signs of stress, that littered his thin frame. She hoped that he would wake up soon.

"What of the rumors?" Allowing the grapevine to go wild would not help anyone, she thought. The day her siblings brought in the man, the rumor mill went crazy. Some were relatively harmless, such as Chrom having a training accident, but others went so far as to say that monsters were inhabiting the Western Woods or that war with Plegia was imminent.

"The maids have quelled the rumors for now, milady. Some continue to show their interest concerning the abnormally high activity in the royal healing chambers, but most simply attribute it to the long-running rumor of a ghost inhabiting the castle." He scoffed at that. He found the thought of the supernatural to be mere fantasy. They simply did not exist. It's not like he feared them or anything. Others found him to be too serious because of that.

"However, the investigation at the Western Woods that Lord Chrom had asked of Miriel and some other scholars has roused the suspicion of many a noble. Their efforts have been very... frantic lately."

"Oh my. That is a cause for concern." While her interactions with the council as a whole were still relatively amicable, at least one or two had questioned the amount of manpower required for the investigation. They felt that the scholars' efforts were better directed to developing cures and devising more magics.

"It may be prudent to discuss this with Chrom and the investigation team before more council members are spurred into action. Some time within this week would be best."

"I shall have a word with Miriel immediately, milady."

* * *

"What do you sense in the air, Ricken?"

"Umm...I don't know, but it feels really heavy and stuffy somehow."

"That is ambient magic. You should be familiar with it by now." Miriel frowned. "I take it that you have been practicing your runic reading and magical manipulation?"

Ricken nodded vigorously at his mentor's critical observation of him. Miriel narrowed her eyes for a bit, concentrating on the eleven year old's bare fingers. Recognizing the tell tale signs of magical residue on and in-between his fingernails, the older mage nodded in approval. She was glad to know that her apprentice had been working hard.

"You have been practicing, I see, but keep in mind that every exercise has its own implied learning objectives. It is a scholar's duty to look beyond the surface and deepen their knowledge of the truths of our world's phenomena."

Satisfied that the young boy had been properly admonished, she continued.

"This location is highly saturated with ambient magical energy, which is unusual for these woods. Along the length of our investigation, this energy has been building up to almost stifling levels. Unfortunately, our pursuit of Lord Chrom's unknown ruins has yet to yield any tangible results. We have scoured the woods for these past three weeks, yet we've failed to find a single sign of the ancient structure that Lord Chrom had described." she turned to him. "What can you infer with this information?"

"Ummm..." the young boy's face scrunched up in concentration. "Uhh, the ambient magic...is covering...hiding the ruins?" he looked up to his mentor, uncertain of the answer he gave.

"Precisely. The investigation team hypothesizes that there is a barrier of some sort concealing the ruins from us, a kind that diverts us from the location instead of actively shielding the ruins. The energy type is unfamiliar to our magics. However, it does behave like any barrier type magic. Now, this raises a few other questions. What are they?"

"Uuuh..." He was visibly sweating now, the exertion from pushing his head to its limits painted clear as day face. "How did Lord Chrom find the ruins in the first place? The barrier should have stopped him from finding it."

"What else?"

"Ahhh...since these woods are not known for strong ambient magic, the barrier could have been put up just recently?"

"Ah, yes, that is so. But is that not strange?"

"Eh?"

"If Lord Chrom found these ruins before the barrier was set up..."

"Someone else should've found it, right?"

Miriel nodded, acknowledging the boy's inference. "There could be other reasons as well. Whoever set up the barrier could have made it so that only Lord Chrom could find it, or the barrier malfunctioned just as Lord Chrom happened upon it." her eyes lit up and Ricken always found it so fascinating to see his normally serious mentor get so...giddy.

"This also brings into question the nature of the ambient energy. It has been building up since the beginning of our investigation, perhaps for even before then. Why does it do that? Is it truly a recent addition or has it been in these woods for a much longer time? If so, how come no one has reported the presence of all this ambient magic? Is it tied to the barrier around the ruins? Is it tied to the rumors of strange creatures inhabiting the area? Not that I put much faith in such unreliable information, but it is worthy of consideration. We have so little information to work with."

As his mentor continued to rattle off her thoughts, the younger mage couldn't help but smile fondly. She was such an interesting woman, contrary to what Vaike always said: _"Looking at grass growing is more interesting than that woman!"_

Ricken admired the smart woman. She was one of his idols, just below Lord Chrom, and that was saying a lot. She taught him a lot about many things, not just about magic. He wanted to grow up quickly, so that he too could become cool like Lord Chrom and smart like Miriel. Just imagining himself being famous and acknowledged by many people made him smile like a loon. Unfortunately, it also made him even more oblivious to his surroundings than he already was.

"RICKEN! BEHIND YOU!"

Startled, the young boy turned around to see a strange black blob with glowing red eyes about to attack him. He stumbled in his haste to get away from the thing, dropping his Wind tome a few meters away.

Miriel was immediately in front of him, shielding him from the strange black blob that made to attack the unguarded boy. The creature jumped, clawed hands poised to swipe at her. Not having the time to open her Fire tome and reduce it to a pile of ash, she whacked the blob with the four inch-thick spellbook and sent it flying. Regaining some freedom to maneuver, she immediately opened her tome to cast a spell. Fire magic had coated her fingertips when the blob did the unexpected.

It split into three.

"What? That's just unfair!" Ricken hurriedly sprang into action in an attempt to level the playing field, though his inexperienced hands took a much longer time to gather his Wind magic than he wanted them to.

The three blobs were identical, though they looked distinctly different from the original red eyed one. Each of the three blobs now had a blue mask, a white vertical line near its crux. It was a strange mask, Ricken thought, as it remended him of a play he once saw with his family. His mother would always drag her reluctant son to those plays she enjoyed so much, thus forcing him to watch them with her. He had to admit that they weren't all that bad, though.

He quickly shook away the unneeded thoughts. He would just be a burden if he was distracted, and he hated being a burden to the adults. He had to take things more seriously if he wanted to be treated like adult.

"Perhaps those rumors held some credence," Miriel offhandedly commented, the casual tone of her voice a clear contrast to how spirited she looked as she launched her built up Fire magic at the blobs.

Not content to stay on the sidelines, Ricken focused his aim on the flaming ball of destruction and followed it up with a blast of wind. As it was fed, the fire grew in size and overwhelmed the three blobs. The creatures dissolved, turning into black ichor before that too vanished into the thick atmosphere of the forest. There was nothing left of the blobs after the momentary burst of flame.

"That... was soooo cool!" his very boyish voice burst in excitement. "Wow, teacher, that was amazing! The Fire just went fwoom when I added the Wind magic and then the creatures just burst and-"

"That is enough, Ricken." Miriel's intense gaze cut the boy's enthusiastic cheering short. "We have more pressing matters to attend to."

She gestured to another mage who had arrived, looking a little out of breath but otherwise in good health. He was Camus Hawthorne, a Wind mage who specialized in barrier magic.

"We found it, ma'am! We finally found it! The ruins that Lord Chrom spoke of! They're over that way..." he looked at the scorched earth. "Uh, what happened here?"

She sighed. "A strange creature attacked us here. Have you encountered any?"

"No, as luck would have it. Are both of you alright?"

"I see. Yes, we managed to handle the situation and keep ourselves in one piece." She threw her apprentice an unreadable stare. It went as quickly as it had come and would have gone unnoticed to anyone who wasn't paying enough attention to her. Ricken bit his lip, his gaze finding its way to the ground. Things went so well, and yet he could feel the senior mage's dissatisfaction without her even saying anything.

For his part, if Camus had noticed this exchange, he did a good job of pretending not to as he nodded and allowed the woman to continue. "We need to report to Lord Chrom immediately. A part of the team will stay behind to monitor the newly found ruins. No one is to go inside and explore the ruins until it has been approved by either Lord Chrom or myself. Another team will be on the lookout for creatures similar to the ones we encountered to ascertain that no creature breaches the capitol. I shall describe these creatures at a later time."

"Very well. Seeing as you've encountered these unknown threats, I fear that some may be lurking around, out of sight. Take your time to rest and allow me to give the area a once-over, then we can be on our way." The barrier specialist nodded in farewell and went on his way. As he vanished into the cover of trees, Miriel turned to her apprentice, this time with a gaze that expressed her disappointment without restraint.

"Ricken, you are to return to the castle and review your magics."

"But I did so well! We beat those things, right? I can help!" He argued, mouth agape in shock. He'd expected to be berated for being so absent-minded in the field, but not this!

"If your help involves almost causing a forest fire, then I would rather you stay near the castle pond." she sighed. "I was sure that with how often I've warned you not to interfere with another mage's magic without an agreement before hand, it would have been ingrained into you. The results would have been disastrous had your Wind magic made me lose control of my Fire magic."

Perhaps unconsciously, Miriel had slipped into a position that Ricken liked to call 'Miss Miriel's lecture position #2'. It involved one hand holding a book of some kind with the other hand raised near her face, a finger ready to readjust her glasses upon finishing an explanation or making a point. The boy would have been amused by the familiarity had he not just been told to leave because of his incompetence.

"Remember the fundamentals! Elemental magic may behave like the elements they represent, but they function on an entirely different system to that of the natural elements. Yes, natural wind would make a magical fire much stronger, but a magical wind could disrupt the controlled flow of magical fire! Each person has a different magical core, and there are instances, all too common, where two people's magics do not combine well! It is a light touch of fortune that I knew your magical signature well enough to recalibrate my own in time to prevent such a disaster!"

She sighed again. She looked at her apprentice's face, tears pooling at the corners of his eyes. "Ricken, I worry for your well-being. Please, return to the castle and refine your skills before coming with me to fieldwork again. Did I make myself clear?"

The young boy sniffled and wiped his tears away, but they kept coming back. How uncool. He had just disappointed his idol and mentor! He felt like the worst person in Yllise, perhaps even in existence. He sniffled some more before nodding slowly. "Y-yes… I understand."

From behind a tree trunk, Camus couldn't help but smile. He'd made himself scarce, already having a guess on what was about to happen from the earlier atmosphere. The bond between a mentor and apprentice was a precious thing, and he didn't intend to walk in on any of that. However, duty called.

He walked into the open, within the two's earshot. "I've found nothing of interest. Shall we be on our way?"

* * *

Lissa hummed an off-beat tune in her seat as she skimmed through her notes. For the past few weeks, she had been getting more serious with her training after witnessing the other healers quickly respond to the stranger they brought into the royal healing chambers. In all her years as a trainee, she hadn't seen an emergency situation. To be fair, she was only twelve and had only trained for roughly four years.

_'Speaking of which...'_

She stole a glance at the blue haired stranger on the bed. She had been visiting him everyday since they brought him to their home, curious about him and how he'd ended up where they found him. There was just something alluring about him. Now that he was properly cleaned - his hair had been cut since it was much too tangled - and slowly filled with some muscle and fat, he looked even more like Chrom than he did at first. The resemblance was uncanny.

"Could he be some long lost twin of Chrom? Did Mother and Father hide something from us?"

The thought worried her. Her Brand had yet to show signs of appearing, which filled her with doubts. Her siblings always assured her that she was as much of a royal as they were, but she always had her doubts. What if she was a child from some affair, passed off as a royal to prevent disgrace from falling upon her mother? What if this stranger was the true royal and not her? Her mother just married into the royal line, after all.

"Agh! I can't focus like this!" she angrily pushed her notes and readings onto the bedside table, almost toppling the flower vase already standing there. She huffed and crossed her arms. She glared at nothing in particular, willing the ill thoughts away.

She did have the same shade of blonde hair Emmeryn and their mother had. The three women shared many features aside from the curly locks, like their complexion, noses, and face shape. She and Emmeryn obviously had the same mother, with her looking more like their mother compared to her older sister. She didn't share features with Chrom, however. Her older brother was almost an exact replica of their father, except he looked so much kinder. She didn't look anything like the previous Exalt, and he was the one of Naga's blood. The queen, her mother, was of noble blood, yes, but not of Naga's line.

What if she was not of royal blood? Was she a farce of a princess? She was short, unlike Chrom and Emmeryn. She was clumsy, ungraceful. She was loud and obnoxious. She wasn't like Emmeryn at all! Chrom looked so cool even if he was sweaty, bloody, and dirty. Not like her.

Glaring at the air in front of her wasn't helping to drive the anxious thoughts away.

"AAGHHH!" she angrily rubbed her hair, hoping she could shake those thoughts loose. All it achieved was ruining her meticulously done pigtails. She felt like crying.

"Ugh..." a strange groan stopped her shouts.

"Is he..." she looked at the young man on the bed and surely enough, the groan had come from him. He squirmed in his covers, the movement clearly painful for him. "Oh gods, he's waking up!"

The blue-haired stranger was awakening. After a few more groans and rustles, the man slowly opened his eyes. Lissa's blue eyes met tired looking, half-lidded grey ones. She noted that the shape of the man's eyes were very similar to Emmeryn's. Could he really be their sibling or something?

She didn't really know what to do, still in shock at the fact that man was awake. She was still unbalanced from her earlier inner turmoil, though most of it has been offset once again by curiosity and concern. She didn't know what to say to him. Before she could even make a sound, however, the man had opened his mouth to say something. A raspy voice reached her ears. It was obviously unused for a long period of time.

"ここ…は…？"

"...Ha?"

_'Cocoa? What's that? Is he speaking another language? Is he from Valm or something?_ She tried to form a response, but could only squeeze out a jumbled mess of syllables that didn't make sense.

Things were getting complicated fast, and she didn't like it one bit.

* * *

**AN:**

Whoo, this chapter took a while to write. I had trouble in some parts, but I guess this is double the length of my previous chapters so it would take a while longer. Plus, I have a beta now~ Thanks to MinoAcid, this chapter has so much more content and the flow is smoother and stuff. This actually took a while because we went back and forth, editing and re-editing. We'll go back to the previous chapters to do a makeover of them sometime.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I'm still experimenting on chapter length, though I think the future chapters would be roughly of this length.

**Guest Review Replies:**

1.) Kaze

I hope the chapter length is a little more to your liking. I am still experimenting with what is comfortable for me, to be honest. And yes, ship tease will happen. It's really hard not to ship in FE and the Persona series. Those games beg you to ship people.

2.) Guest

To be honest, I plan to keep this story short since I wasn't really sure if it would receive positive reception. If things keep up, I might go through with my thoughts of a sequel to this story set during Awakening. Makoto might be paired then, idk.


	4. Interesting Times are Coming

**Chapter Title:** Interesting Times are Coming

**Chapter Length:** 4,409 words

**First Published**: 16 November 2015

**Beta Reader**: MinoAcid

* * *

Makoto didn't know what hit him, but he was going to sue whoever the idiot driver was into debt. He felt weak, hungry, thirsty, and just plain tired. Even breathing was hard. He was hurting in places he didn't even know existed. He hated feeling so weak.

What was he doing before this anyway? His mind was a jumbled mess. Whenever he tried to remember the last thing that happened, he would recall a totally random memory that, as far as he could tell, wasn't related to whatever got him this messed up.

Fuuka cooking something bad in the Cooking Club? Nope, it wasn't only his stomach hurting. Besides, she was actually getting better at cooking. She wouldn't beat him up senseless, would she? He'd been a really good boyfriend to her, right? Right?

Training with Akihiko-senpai? Nope, he was pretty sure a simple training session with the fighting obsessed albino wouldn't have led to his current terrible condition. Unless they were using their higher level equipment. But nah, Michiru-senpai specifically forbade battles to the death after that one time they almost, well, battled to the death.

Speaking of which, maybe he got in trouble with Michiru-senpai? Did she Ice Break him? Nah, he didn't feel cold. He felt hungry and tired and sore but not cold.

Eating with Yukari? Nope.

Playing video games with Junpei? Nah.

Walking in on Minako and Shinjiro-sen-okay, NO! Hadn't he already wiped that memory off of his mind? Seeing your twin sister like that was just...NO! That clearly didn't lead to his state right now.

Maybe he really did get hit by a truck or something. He meant it as a joke earlier, but if it really did happen, he was going to sue the hell out of the idiot who did this to him. Not that he really knew how to do that just yet, but he'd learn just to give the damn blind asshole his or her just desserts. Shit, his thoughts were just going in circles. His brain was messed up. He needed more rest. Yes, he'd think later.

Makoto never opened his eyes throughout his thinking session and easily slipped back into unconsciousness.

* * *

"AAGHHH!"

A shout of frustration coupled with the sound of stuff clattering on the floor woke Makoto up. He was getting his beauty rest, damn it! He tried ignoring the idiot. Maybe it was just his sister being as noisy as usual. If he ignored that girly scream, it would surely go away, right?

Shuffle shuffle. It was the sound of shuffling papers and moving items. Was his sister picking up whatever fell on the floor? But no, it sounded a little higher up. Was she rearranging the bedside table?

Skreee! It was the sound of a chair scraping against the floor. Makoto winced. That was rather high pitched and painful. His poor ears.

Plop! It was the sound of someone sitting down rather heavily. Did his sister gain weight? Shinjiro-senpai had been cooking stuff for her more often lately. Heh, maybe he could tease her about it? Well, Fuuka did the same to him so maybe it wouldn't be a good idea. Minako would just throw it right back at him. Sigh. He should stop thinking and go back to sleep. Yeah, sleep was good.

Rustle rustle. It was the sound of cloth rustling. Was his sister fidgeting? Man, he knew she was impatient but God damn woman can you quiet down a bit?

...

...

Aah, she quieted down. He could finally drift back off to sleep...

"Hmm hmm hmm hmm..."

Fuck it. She started mumbling. He let out a small growl of displeasure. The noise was too much. He couldn't go back to blissful unconsciousness. Grumbling, he slowly opened his eyes.

_KAMI-SAMA IT BURNS!_

He immediately squeezed his eyes shut, groaning in pain. The relatively gentle lighting was too much for his delicate eyes. How long was he out for, anyway?

The girl next to him started blabbing again. It was getting annoying. _'Sis, please shut up.'_ Sighing through his nose and more carefully than before, he slowly opened his eyes.

Everything was blurry as fuck. Blinking slowly in an attempt to focus his eyes, he eventually saw the stone ceiling. Wait, stone? Really? Where were the fluorescent lamps and the white ceiling that never seems to gather dust? He should have been in a hospital with how shitty he felt, right? Turning his head ever so slightly - Kami-sama that hurt like a mother fucker - he eventually spotted the...yellow blob. Not sister, then. Squinting a bit, he eventually gathered that it was a person. Maybe the screaming girl from earlier? Most likely. Deciding now would be the best time, he asked where the fuck he was.

Except that it didn't come out right.

His throat was dry and very painful, the simple "Where are we?" turning into a mangled mess. He hoped the girl understood.

"...Ha?"

'_Well, shit. Don't make me say that again, girl. My throat's on fire!'_ Thought the very tired blue haired young man.

The girl started saying things but… he couldn't make out what she was saying. Was his hearing shot to hell too? Eventually, his eyes cleared enough for him to make out some the yellow girl's features. Well, fuck, she didn't look Japanese at all. Maybe that's why they couldn't understand each other? He did default to Japanese. He decided to try speaking in English. Most people knew English, right?

"Where...are...we...?" ...going? (His brain was seriously jumbled if he heard Dora's annoying voice continuing his sentence.) Am I not in Japan anymore? What am I doing here? Where do you come from? His throat was screaming at him, begging him for some water, or maybe to stop talking. _'Damn, is that blood I taste?'_

The girl just tilted her head and started babbling in that language of hers. What the fuck. She didn't speak English? Or Japanese? Well, there goes that. He was screwed. How the hell did he end up here and in this state, anyway? What the fuck was going on?

He sighed once more through his nose, defeated, before deciding that sleeping would be the perfect solution to his problem. He wouldn't get anywhere trying to communicate with the girl in his state, anyway, so he ignored her and closed his eyes. Man… he was so tired...

* * *

"Oh Naga!"

The blue haired stranger had just woken up and started talking when he suddenly went back into unconsciousness. Was he okay?! Lissa didn't know what to do. She was panicking, her frazzled movements and thoughts not helping anyone. She waved her hands uselessly, trying to think of what to do.

"Oh, yeah! I'll call in more experienced healers. Right, right!"

She hastily stood up, knocking over the chair she was sitting on. She cringed at the loud noise, though even that failed to wake the young man on the bed. She was getting even more worried at the man's state. Quickly, she left the healing chambers to look for someone.

In her haste to exit the room, she didn't notice the person who was about to enter. She opened the door, bowling over the person on the other side.

"Oh my gods! Are you alright?" She quickly went to the downed person's side, trying to help them stand up.

"I am fine, Lady Lissa," an effeminate voice replied. The downed blonde easily stood up with the princess' aid, dusting off their clothing once they were on their feet. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Oh, it's you, Libra! Perfect timing! The stranger woke up but then he's unconscious again and I don't know what to do!" The young princess pulled the older healer into the room, practically dragging him inside.

Libra was one of the royal family's most trusted healers. He was nice, very meticulous, and surprisingly quite good in combat. Normally, his job would require him to spend more time training trainee priests and clerics for battle, but none of that was necessary at the moment. Recently, he spent most of his time helping around the castle. He was one for the first healers on the scene when the royal siblings brought in the stranger.

"Did you check his vitals, milady? What is his condition?"

She stopped with her pulling, caught off guard by the older blonde's question. "Oh. No, I didn't. I forgot." She blushed in embarrassment. She bit her lip, annoyed with herself. She still had a lot to learn. "I panicked when he started speaking in this weird language and it slipped my mind. I'm sorry." She looked down, crestfallen. It was such a stupid mistake, and it hurt even more considering that she was studying these things right before it happened.

"No harm done, milady." Libra's serene voice calmed down the young girl. The man greatly admired their Exalt, and he tried to emulate her serenity and grace. While he thought he still had a long way to go, others would disagree, thinking that he was well on his way. "I am currently checking him over and he is still as healthy as could be in his condition. He was just tired. That short talk took a lot out of him, I think. We might need to prepare something for his throat."

"That's great!" She sighed in relief. The young princess was really worried about that mysterious young man. He could be long lost family! Plus, a little part of her found the situation to be fantastical, like a novel.

"We do need to inform the Exalt and Lord Chrom soon." It had been weeks since the man was brought in and the royal family had a lot of questions. They would surely want to know any changes to his condition immediately.

"I'll go! You watch over him, since you know more stuff. Maybe you know the language he spoke? Anyway, I'll be off!" The spirited young girl quickly dashed out of the room, leaving an amused War Priest and unconscious potential Lord in the room.

"Princess Lissa is always so energetic." he smiled. He then turned to the man on the bed. "We are very curious about you. You get more interesting by the day. It's rare for a royal family member to not know a language, as they are taught all that could be taught to better facilitate international relations."

He smiled, amused. "If Lady Lissa doesn't know it, the chances of me knowing are rather slim. I wonder where you come from, young man."

* * *

"What is the status at the Western Woods currently, Head Mage Miriel?" asked Emmeryn kindly. She always sounded kind, even if she was asking for official reports.

"The number of Shades have been steadily rising over the weeks since we have first discovered them. Most remain weak to Fire magic, but we recently have discovered more breeds of these Shades that are immune to such magics. Experimentation yielded these results." Miriel, the head mage in charge of the operation at the Western Woods, handed the Exalt a sheaf of parchment paper full of research notes.

Emmeryn graciously accepted it with a warm "Thank you." before she motioned for the magician to continue her report. The blonde woman browsed through the notes before passing them on to her brother at her side. Even if she was the Exalt, Yllistol and Yllise's protection and safety was Chrom's speciality. He knew more in the defensive arts then she did.

"Summarizing the data, some Shades are weak to either Wind or Lightning magic. Some of which are strong against at least one type of magic and weak against another type. However, there are some Shades who are neither strong nor weak to our current magics and some that have immunity without the weakness." Here, the red haired mage removed her large cap and ran a hand through her hair in a rare sign of frustration.

"As of now, we have not yet discovered a pattern to their strengths and weaknesses, as there are also those who are strong and weak against different types of physical attacks. We encountered Shades who are strong against attacks from a sword but are weak to those from a spear. These creatures seem to not follow a system but I refuse to believe such. Not a thing on this world does not follow logic!"

Miriel ended her summary in a rather frustrated huff, replacing her mage's cap on her head. The other occupants in the room were rather unused to the normally calm and collected redhead displaying such uncontrolled emotions and were frankly uncomfortable with the scenario.

"…Is there a threat of the Shades escaping the Western Woods and entering Yllistol? You have mentioned their rising numbers." Chrom's face was set in a worried frown as he read Miriel's research notes that Emmeryn handed to him and cross-referencing it with the Yllisean Army Roster. At the rate these Shades were expanding, he would need to strengthen the army presence at the Western Gate. He may need to send more soldiers to start actively exterminating the growing problem.

"At the rate these creatures are currently reproducing, I suspect that our Wind barriers would only hold for another week more. Even strengthening the barriers would not help much with the recent discovery of Wind-immune Shades. I suggest increasing the army presence in the Woods to start exterminating the menace and perhaps bring some live specimens for further research. We have enough gathered data, at the very least, to start a forward advance without endangering any members of the army."

"Each assault team needs to be specialized, however, to include at least one of each weapon type and one of each magic type to cover any weaknesses in formation, based on my understanding of your research." Chrom turned to Miriel for confirmation and the scholarly woman nodded. "Frederick, do you think we can get at least two fully functioning assault team ready before the barrier breaks?" Chrom turned to his second in command.

"We have no problems with the weapon users, as we do have a surplus of them, milord. However, we have two problems with that formation. For one, we may have an abundant weapon force, but our magic force is lacking in comparison. We have many able bodied Wind and Fire mages, but we currently lack expert Lightning mages. The ones currently in our roster are just trainees who can barely control the most destructive magic in existence, bar Dark magic." Here, Frederick grimaced, remembering the many training incidents and broken property he had to replace because of said training incidents. It was always difficult being the Head Knight.

"Another concern is this. As you know, milord, we do not normally have such a large group working together in one unit. We normally have units of at most four in a group, usually composed of three weapon users and one magic user. It should not be that difficult to introduce two more magic users to an already functioning unit, but I am concerned that they may not function as well as they normally would with the introduction of two outsiders into their unit. With this still strange and mostly unknown enemy, teamwork is highly necessary to prevent accidents and needless deaths."

A contemplative silence befell the room, the four occupants lost in thought trying to think of solutions to their problem. A few moments later, Chrom sighed.

"What choice do we have? We need to contain this threat before it harm the citizens." The young Lord leaned heavily on his chair, highly inappropriate for a lord of his standing, but at the moment he could hardly care. He was tired.

"If that is what you think is best, Chrom, then I believe we should pursue this course of action. I have faith in our militia." Emmeryn smiled reassuringly at her little brother. He always worried too much for a young man of seventeen summers.

"Very well then, Your Grace. If you will allow it, I shall immediately set out to prepare the assault team." Frederick bowed deeply in his Exalt's direction.

"Of course, Frederick. As one of our Head Knights, I am certain any team you bring forth is truly capable of handling their duty. Please work with Miriel in scouting for mages, however, as I believe she is more knowledgeable in this field. That is, if you are willing, Miriel?" Emmeryn turned to the Fire mage and smiled, asking for the redhead's assent. Emmeryn always smiled so gently and asked so nicely that everyone felt that they had to say yes to the heavenly being even if, with the way she asked, they could easily say no. She didn't even need to ask for their confirmation, as she was the Exalt and could easily order them around. But the kind woman did so anyway and that endeared her to her subjects. Emmeryn was a saint and such a kind woman would not be denied. It would be like sinning against Naga!

"Affirmative, Your Grace." Miriel bowed.

"Very well, then! Thank you for your continued service to the country. I wish you good luck and may Naga guide you. You are dismissed." Emmeryn yet again smiled so radiantly that the hearts of the people in the room swelled with warmth. She really had a way with people.

The duo bowed yet again and turned to leave. Chrom sunk even further down his seat in exhaustion. That meeting, coupled with the meeting with the nobles earlier that day, truly tired out the young prince. He always wondered how his elder sister could always be so serene and composed. He was slightly jealous. Unknowingly, he was pouting at Emmeryn's direction. The queen had seen, however, and she stifled a small laugh. Her little brother always looked so cute.

"Um, sorry, is this a bad time?"

Before Frederick and Miriel could leave the private meeting room to complete their task, Lissa had poked her head into the room.

"What is it, Lissa?" asked Exalt. Her little sister looked rather worried and excited at the same time. It led to the young princess looking rather silly. Ah, her little siblings were always so cute.

"Well...remember that stranger we found in the Woods? Well, he woke up earlier, talked in a weird language, maybe two I'm not sure, and passed out again before I could make out anything he said." The younger blonde rambled before she bit her lip and looked to the side in worry.

Ah, things were getting really interesting indeed. As if they didn't have enough to work with already. Chrom just sighed and slumped in his chair some more. He looked like he would fall out of his chair any moment now. Frederick looked scandalized at his charge's behaviour. Miriel had a curious glint in her eyes. Emmeryn just continued to smile, as if she was privy to a joke that no one understood.

"My, my. Such an interesting young man."

* * *

The marketplace was as busy as always, with stall owners hawking their wares and customers entering and exiting shops. A great mass of people moved like a living being, colors and shapes blending together in barely controlled chaos. Amidst this, Sumia nimbly maneuvered through the crowd in her casual attire of a simple cream dress with lavender accents.

Although she was of noble blood, she preferred to do things by herself without the aid of maids and butlers. It gave her a sense of freedom that she loved. Nestled in the crook of her left arm was a basket half filled with baking goods. She was still trying to master her baking skills. She wanted to impress Lord Chrom!

The thought of the man she loved brought a blush to the young maiden's cheeks. She knew she didn't have much of a chance in snatching the young prince's heart, what with almost every maiden in the country vying for his attention, but a girl can dream, can she not? She let out a soft giggle that was drowned in the midmorning chaos of the marketplace. She wouldn't dare show this abhorrent behaviour while in training, but she could let loose during her off days, right?

Checking her list, she only needed eggs. She tended to get those last after so many times that the eggs would get crushed by other goods in her basket. She learned the hard way, after wasting almost 50 G on eggs. She was really clumsy.

While walking to her destination, she happened to overhear a group of women's conversation. She did not mean to overhear, but they were talking so loudly that she could hear them even with the loud background noise.

"Did you hear? A war with Plegia could happen sometime soon. I overheard a group of Yllisean guards talking about it. Some towns in the border have been harassed, and brigands are roaming the routes. It's not safe anymore!" said Woman A, a rather portly middle aged woman with a bush of curly brown hair. Cries of shock and fear were the group's response.

"That's absolutely dreadful! No one is safe anymore!" A rather tall woman with short black hair exclaimed. Sumia labelled her Woman B. "My merchant friend's cousin's daughter-in-law encountered difficulties getting to Yllistol last week. I don't know if it's those brigands, but I bet it could also be those creatures in the Western Woods. Haven't you heard? They say there are these dark creatures made by dark magic that go around eating souls! It's especially bad if it's late at night and the moon is full!"

"Right! My husband heard from his friend who heard it from that guy who lives near the city outskirts. He says that he can hear strange noises at night! Didn't Lord Chrom get injured a few weeks back from a scouting trip there? I bet it was them!" Woman C's loud exclamation left her red faced. Her dark hair was escaping from her tight bun.

The conversation's track was getting Sumia worried. She knew Frederick did his best to arrange for those rumours to be quelled but it seems that those rumours are still circulating strong. She feared that it would lead to more unrest than there already was. Tensions between Yllise and Plegia were getting into an all-time high. The government didn't need more things piled onto their plate.

"B-but didn't the Royal Crier announce that it was just a training a-acci-ccident and that there are no m-m-monsters in the W-we-western Woods?" The last woman of the group was rather different compared to the rest of the group. She had a softer voice and demeanour. Woman D was practically hunched over, a hand to her chest. She looked really shy, her long auburn hair covering most of her face. Sumia found it hard to hear her so she went slightly closer.

Woman A replied, "Oh shush, hun. You can't really trust everything that they release. Those noble types like to keep information to themselves and we commoners get such a highly edited version of the truth, you can't even call it the truth."

"Yeah! The government likes to think they can fool us citizens by saying such fancy words but I won't be fooled! If the people are telling me than they experience these things, then I'd rather believe the people rather than that cock and bull statement that the royals let out." Woman C's even louder exclamation left her face in an even more alarming shade of red. Sumia wasn't so sure with how far she was, but she thought she could see spittle escaping her lips.

Woman B sighed, her short hair waving with her shaking head. "The Exalt is too nice. I love her as a person but she's being bullied by those corrupt nobles. I wonder how much power she truly holds…"

The meek woman looked lost in the stream of political opinions the other women were exchanging. Their talk continued on to cover the various nobles and who was the most trustworthy of all of them. Sumia decided she had listened in enough. She hastily walked away without a destination in mind. She really needed to get away from here.

A few blocks away, the young Pegasus Knight trainee leaned on a shop's wall, contemplating the status of her country. Not only was Yllise being bullied by Plegia, but the people had lost faith in the capabilities of their leader to lead them in these difficult times.

She knew that Exalt Emmeryn's rise to power was difficult. After taking on her ruthless father's mantle, people wanted justice. The old king was truly terrible and poor Exalt Emmeryn had to handle the backlash. Over time, she had won over the people with her kindness and her belief in peace.

"But now the situation has changed, right?" Sumia mumbled to herself. No one can pinpoint when it started, but over the past few years of her training, the people had started to lose faith in their Exalt. Maybe it was the build-up of issues that the people felt were handled unsuccessfully because of her peaceful ways? Sumia didn't know the reason, but she wanted to support Exalt Emmeryn. Getting to occasionally interact with her in the castle, Sumia knew that the woman was a good leader worth fighting for.

Sumia kicked off from leaning on the wall. It was decided! She would support Exalt Emmeryn to the best of her abilities. She didn't know how much help she would be, but she would do just that. She would need to train hard to be a good soldier. Maybe after baking, she would do some spear drills. Maybe she would bake something for the Exalt.

Making up her mind, the young woman made her way to the castle. The determined glint in her eyes would be known worldwide in the coming years as a sign of an unstoppable force of nature or a world of pain for those who slighted her. Her enemies would cower at the sight of those eyes, framed by soft, angelic hair belonging to a devil holding on to a wicked spear. She would be known as a legend and today, at this very moment, was the start of something truly dreadful.

However ground-breaking this day may be, the young Pegasus knight in training still completely forgot she still needed to buy eggs.

* * *

**AN:**

My goodness! I greatly apologize for taking so long in uploading this chapter. Aah, college life is truly so stressful. It honestly took me so long because the middle part, where Emmeryn was holding a council with the others, took so long to write, with so many repetitions. MinoAcid is also pretty busy too, so this thing has just been collecting dust, so to speak, every time we edit and re-edit the damn thing.

Well, at least it's done now. I'm not overly happy with it but I really need to upload it already else I can't move on with the story.

**Guest Review Replies:**

1.) Airhead Fortis

Well, I believe the language barrier is a really important struggle that most crossovers must face, mostly when the worlds are so vastly different. I really want to make this as plausible as possible. Well, the translation did come up in this chapter. "ここ...は...?" (pronounced Koko... wa...?) is actually Makoto mangling ここはどこ (Koko wa doko) an informal statement meaning "Where are we?". Well, if you want to be technical, "koko wa doko" literally translates to "Where is here?" but Japanese grammar understands it as "Where are we?" as well.

2.) Mewmew

I'm glad you loved the chapter! Hmm, Shadows (or as the FE cast calls it, Shades) kinda do function like the Risen in Awakening to an extent in that, if this were the game, you can grind Shadows to level up or what. But story-wise, the Shadows are what the Shadows are in Persona, the embodiment of negative human emotions.

3.) Demenos

I'm happy you found it interesting~ Personae will appear in this story, I can tell you that. How he'll summon them and how they work here will be like how the P4 cast summons them, through crushing cards. What Personae they will be, however, is something you'll just have to find out later on. :3


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